BENTON HARBOR -- One year from now the Senior PGA Championship, one of the four majors for the over-50 touring pros, will be played at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores.

Ross Smith, the general manager and director of golf at Harbor Shores, isn’t worried.

"The PGA of America is here, they’ve opened up an office downtown, we’ve already filled slots for 1,700 volunteers, and they will run the show," Smith said. "There’s no way I can screw this up, and I’m tickled to death about that."

It’s the PGA of America’s practice to send advance staff to events. The 2011 Senior PGA is being played this week at Valhalla, near Louisville, Ky. It’s the first of four that will be sponsored by the KitchenAid brand of Whirlpool Corp., which has its world headquarters in Benton Harbor.

In addition to the 2012 Senior PGA, the 2014 Senior PGA also will be played at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course that is the linchpin for a master-planned beach and golf community that in 20 years hopes to have 800 residences to go with the course, a hotel, marina, river walk, town center, restaurants, shopping outlets, fitness facilities and spa.

The course opened April 29 for its first full season after a grand opening last August that featured Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller in a charity "Champions for Change" event.

"Champions for Change was on us, and it turned out to be a tremendous success, so that gives us confidence to take on this," Smith. "And the great part is the PGA comes in and they know their business. It’s going to be great."

Smith said course conditions continue to improve as the site grows in completely, and the PGA of America agronomists work with the club in that vein as well. Construction is going on all around the course, including the new clubhouse and some condo units, cottages and houses that the development hopes to have completed by the tournament.

Smith said he hears a lot of concern about hotel rooms, but St. Joseph and Benton Harbor have a number of rooms due to its status as a tourist community, and South Bend, South Haven, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids give the region significant facilities.

"Everything needed is here and we certainly plan to work some long days and make it happen with the PGA," he said. "It’s mandatory that the players like it, and think it’s one of the best they’ve ever played in. The last thing we want is a bad experience when they are coming back in two years."

Michigan will be the center of the Champions Tour and major golf for seniors next year. The U.S. Senior Open will be played at the Old Course at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion.